Boston Mayor: Sorry I Said I'd Blow Up Detroit

Detroit's a little touchy these days, as Boston Mayor Tom Menino has found out. Menino apologized yesterday for his "poor choice of words" while offering a little constructive criticism about the bankrupt city, reports CBS News. The flap began when Menino told the New York Times magazine that he would "love to go" to Detroit. But then he added this:

• "I’d blow up the place and start all over. No, seriously, when it takes a police officer 90 minutes to answer a call, there’s something wrong with the system. Forty percent of the streetlights are out, most of the buildings are boarded up. Why? Inaction, that’s the problem—leadership."

• Detroit Mayor Dave Bing: "It is extremely regrettable that Boston Mayor Thomas Menino used such an unfortunate choice of words to describe what he would do if he came to Detroit. I would think the mayor of a city that recently experienced a deadly bombing attack would be more sensitive and not use the phrase 'blow up.'"
• Menino: "I made a mistake," he told CBS Boston yesterday. "I apologize." While he stood by the stats he cited, he said he used a "poor choice of words."

(More Boston stories.)